Candles can be made in various ways. Two of the common types of candles are poured candles and compression candles. Poured candles are made by melting a wax, pouring the melted wax into the desired shape candle mold, inserting a wick into the melting wax and then permitting the wax to harden. This process usually takes several hours, for example, 4-6 hours for large poured pillar candles, but results in a very smooth-sided, aesthetically pleasing candle. Poured candles generally are considered more desirable and, hence command higher prices than, for example, compression candles.
Compression candles may be made using wax particles, referred to as prills. The particles are compressed in a mold to create the candle. The process is typically made using a high-speed production process. The time to make a compression candle is seconds, for example, 15 seconds, compared to the hours required to make a poured candle. This results in lower production costs than traditional poured pillar candles. However, under normal compression conditions, the prills leave behind visual artifacts in the sides of the finished candles. For example, the prill borders are still visible in the sides of the finished candle, giving it a grainy appearance, which gives them inferior aesthetics to poured pillar candles, and may make them less desirable to consumers. As a result, compression candles typically sell for lower prices than poured pillar candles.
Attempts to improve the appearance of compression candles have included over-dipping the candles in molten wax; or by applying a pour over treatment inside a mold. The first method improves the aesthetics but adds cost and still does not match the aesthetics of poured pillar candles. In addition, over-dipping may require the shape of the candle to be altered to promote even coating and draining. For example, the top of the candle may be domed as opposed to flat. It is also difficult to over-dip candles with wide diameters, e.g., greater than about 3 inches.
The second method, applying a pour treatment inside a poured pillar mold to create a layer over the compressed candle, may improve aesthetics but adds substantial cost due to substantial increases in processing and cycle time.